Flux grinding apparatus



Feb. 13, 1962 F. LEADER FLUX GRINDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets -Sheet 1 FiledApril 18, 1960 INVEJVTOR.

FOREST LEADER HIS ATTORNEY$ ELM F. LEADER FLUX GRINDING APPARATUS Feb.13, 1962 4 Sheets-$heet 2 Filed April 18, 1960 HIS ATTORNEYS Feb. 13,1962 F. LEADER 3,021,081

FLUX GRINDING APPARATUS Filed April 18, 1960 4 Sheets-$heet 3 N NINVENTOR.

FOREST LEADER We, 9 8M HIS AT T ORA/E Y8 Feb. 13, 1962 Filed April 18,1960 F. LEADER FLUX GRINDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-$heet 4 INVENTOR. FORESTLEADER H/S ATT ORNE Y5 3,021,081 FLUX GRINDTNG APPARATUS Forest Leader,Oakiand, Calif, assignor to L & B Welding Equipment, Inc, a corporationof California Filed Apr. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 22,797 3 Claims. (Cl. 24191)ment of the same, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein: v

FIG. 1 is a front view in elevation of the flux grinding apparatus ofthe present invent'on;

FIG. 2 is a rear view in elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1; p

FIG. 3 is a view in section taken in the plane 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view in section taken in the plane 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view in section taken in the plane 5-5 of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings for details of my invention in its preferredform, the same comprises a housing 1 formed with an arcuate roof 3, andincluded in the framework of such housing, in each side thereof, is ahorzontal structural member or beam 5 located at a substantial elevationabove the floor of the housing. These beams constitute the main supportfor the operating mechanism of the apparatus, included in which is acylindrical screen assembly 9.

This screen assembly comprises a par of aligned annular side plates 11disposed in parallel planes, each provided with a concentric inwardlydirected circular flange 13 connected in spaced opposing relationship toeach other by uniformly spaced connecting strips 15 to form acylindrical frame about which to wrap and support a cylindrical screen17. The concentric flanges 13 are located on a radius substantially lessthan the outermost radius of the side plates 11 to leave an overhangingrim 19 for each side plate.

The cylindrical screen assembly 9 is rotatably supported concentricallywith and close, to the roof 3. of the housing, on two pairs of drivenrollers 21, the peripheries of wh'ch are grooves to receive theoutermost edges of the rims 19 of the plates, which function as tracksfor this purpose. Each pair of rollers is fixed to a roller shaft 23supported in bearings 25 suspended from the horizontal beams 5, theroller shafts, each at one end, extending beyond its supporting bearingsufficiently to mount a sprocket 27, the two sprockets being thencoupled by a drive chain 29.

Disposed transversely of the cylindr'cal screen assembly somewhat belowthe center axis thereof, is a pair of closely positioned grinding rolls31 each fixed on a shaft 33, one shaft being supported in fixed bearings34 mounted on the horizontal beams 5, while the other shaft is carriedin slidable bearings 35, each of wh'ch is adjustably positioned on oneof the beams 5, by an adjusting screw 37, acted on by a compressionspring 41, the spring also serving to give, in the interest of safety,should a 3,921,981 Patented Feb, 13, 19 2 piece of metal or noncrushablematerial gain access between the grinding rolls.

The cyl'ndrical screen assembly 9 and the grinding rolls 31 are drivenfrom a common motor 47 mounted on a bracket 49 aflixed to an end wall ofthe housing 1; To effect such drive, each of the grinding roll shafts 33carries a pulley 53 in the plane of a drive pulley 55 mounted on theshaft of the drive motor 47, and a drive belt 59 passing under thepulley of one roll shaft and encircling the pulley of the remaining rollshaft, will cause both grinding rolls to rotate in oppos'te directions,the direction of the drive motor being such as to cause the grindingrolls to rotate with their opposing surfaces moving downwardly.

The drive to the sprockets 27 of the cylindrical screen supportingrollers 21 is taken olf from one of the grinding roll shafts, and th'sis accomplished by mounting a sprocket 63 on the end of one of saidshafts and coupling the same by a drive chain 65 to a second sprocket 67mounted on the end of one of the roller shafts 23. Thus the cylindricalscreen assembly and the grinding rolls will function in unison and inproperly timed relationship.

Welding flux to be ground and recovered is fed to the cylindr'cal screen17 from an external inclined chute 71 supported at its discharge end ona plate 73 spanning the lower portion of the central opening in theproximate annular side plate 11, and mounted on the proximate beam 5,while at its other or elevated end, the chute is supported by a brace75. Material sliding down the chute will drop to the lower portion ofthe cylindrical screen 17.

To bring this material from the screen to the grinding rolls, the screenassembly 9 is provided with a plurality of pockets about the internalperiphery thereof which may be formed by a plurality of equally spacedessentially arcuate or angularly formed walls or fences 79 disposedtransversely of the screen and anchored at each end to the screensupporting flanges 13. These str'ps will pick up material in the lowerportion of the screen assembly and carry it up with rotation thereof,and when each reaches a position approaching the peak of its travel, thecontents of a pocket will be discharged therefrom.

In the path of such discharge is a hopper 81, which is fixed to andsupported on a cross shaft 83 anchored at one end to an upright 85mounted on one of the cross beams 5. This hopper includes a longdescending floor 89 terminating adjacent its lower end in a dischargeopening 91 immediately above the entrance between the grind ing rolls31. Inasmuch as only material capable of passing through the cylindricalscreen will sift through, any articles of a size too large to s'ftthrough the screen, will be carried up in the various pockets providedby the cross strips 79 and discharge into the hopper 81 for grinding toa smaller size.

To effectively remove any metallic particles such as weld metal whichmay inevitably become mixed in with the flux to be recovered, arelatively strong magnet 95 is mounted in the sloping floor of thehopper in the path of material discharging from the various pocketsof'the cylindrical screen, and any metallic particles thus trapped, maybe removed'periodically.

The material thus sifted through the cylindrical screen will comprise amixture of the desired flux particles and undesired dust, and means isprovided for separating these two components so that the recovered fluxwill be substantially free of dust.

Toward this end, a frusto-conical baflie 101 of sheet metal or the likeis disposed about the cylindrical screen 17, with its smaller endanchored to side plate 11 or proximate point of the screen assembly,such baffle terminating approximately half way across the screenassembly.

Encircling the baffle 10-1 is a frusto-conical screen 103 of a meshwhich will sift dust particles but not iiux particles of desired size.This screen is of a width to span the cylindrical screen and is affixedto the screen assembly with its smaller end adjacent that side plate 11opposite the side plate to which the bafile 101 is anchored, while thelarger end of this screen is supported on spaced brackets extendinginwardly from the proximate side plate.

In operation, the siftings from approximately one half of thecylindrical screen 17 will fall directly upon the smaller end of thedust screen 1133 while approximately the remaining half of the sittingsfrom the cylindrical screeen will drop upon the battle 101, which inturn will discharge such sittings upon the same or smaller end of thedust screen 103. In this manner, all of the siftings will land upon thesmaller end of the dust screen, and due to its frusto-conical form, suchmaterial will then tend to drift, during rotation of the cylindricalscreen assembly, toward the larger end of the dust screen, therebyaffording the dust components maximum opportunity to sift through thedust screen by the time the larger particles reach the larger end of thedust screen from which they are discharged between the many supportingbrackets.

The desired particles thus separated from the dust and discharged fromthe edge of the dust screen, may be caused to drop into a delivery chute109 supported just below the discharge edge of the dust screen andextending outwardly of the housing for collecting and guiding suchparticles into a receptacle such as a barrel or the like positioned atthe discharge end of such chute. The heavier of the dust particles maybe caused to drop into one or more drawers 111 built into the housing atthe floor level, or such particles may be permitted to pile up .on thehousing floor to be shoveled out at a later time.

The lighter dust filtering through the dust screen may be withdrawn bymeans of suitable blower 113 built into the housing for this purpose.

Escape of material or dust through the central opening of the side plate11 opposite the feed side of the cylindrical screen assembly, may beblocked by provision of a circular plate 115 fitting such opening andhaving aflixed thereto about its rim, a circular flange 117 of flexiblematerial extending across the resulting circular slit, to block escapeof dust or particles therethrough, while still permitting rotationalmovement of the proximate side plate with respect thereto.

said cylindrical screen about its axis, means for grind: ing flux anddropping same onto said screen for passing flux particles up to the sizeof said screen openings and retain particles of larger size, and meansfor lifting and feeding said larger size particles to said grindingmeans, said means including a guide to receive and direct such particlesto said grinding means, and a magnet carried by said guide in the pathof such particles to attract and hold magnetic material mixed in withsuch particles.

2. Welding flux grinding apparatus comprising a cylindrical screen,means rotatably supporting said screen with its longitudinal axishorizontal, means for rotating said cylindrical screen about its axis,means within said cylindrical screen for grinding flux and dropping thesame onto said screen for passing flux particles up to the size of saidscreen openings and retain particles of larger size, and means forlifting and feeding said larger size particles to said grinding means,said means including a plurality of pockets disposed at spaced intervalsabout the inner surface of said screen, and a hopper supported inposition to receive the particles discharged from said pockets and guidethe same to said grinding means, and a magnet in the path of movement ofsuch particles to attract and hold magnetic material mixed in with suchparticles.

3. Welding flux grinding apparatus comprising a cylindrical screen,means rotatably supporting said screen with its longitudinal axishorizontal, means for rotating said cylindrical screen about its axis,means within said cylindrical screen for grinding flux and dropping sameonto said screen for passing flux particles up to the size of saidscreen openings and retain particles of larger size, and means forlifting and feeding said larger size particles to said grinding means,said means including a plurality of pockets disposed at spaced intervalsabout the inner surface of said screen, and a hopper supported inposition to receive the particles discharged from said pockets and guidethe same to said grinding means, and a magnet in the path of movement ofsuch particles to attract and hold magnetic material mixed in with suchparticles, and means for removing dust particles from the sittings fromsaid cylindrical screen, said means ineluding a frusto-conical bafileencircling said cylindrical Further to preclude escape of dust orparticles through the narrow slit formed between the outer rims 19 ofthe side plates 11 and the arcuate roof 3 of the housing, while stillpermitting of the rotational movement of the screen assembly, a sealingflange 119 is applied along each edge of the arcuate roof in overlappingengagement with the edges of the proximate side plates. From theforegoing description of my invention in its preferred form, it will beapparent that the same fulfills all the objects of my invention, andwhile I have illustrated and described the same in great detail, I donot wish to be limited in my protection to such details as I haveillustrated and described except as may be necessitated by the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. Welding flux grinding apparatus comprising a cylindrical screen,means rotatably supporting said screen with its longitudinal axishorizontal, means for rotating screen with its small end in proximity toone end of said cylindrical screen and its larger end in proximity tothe transverse mid-plane of said cylindrical screen, and afrusto-conical screen encircling said frusto-conical bafile with itssmall end in proximity to the opposite end of said cylindrical screenand its large end terminating in a free edge, in proximity to the firstend of said cylindrical screen, said frusto-conical screen being ofsmaller mesh than said cylindrical screen.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 33,829Adt Nov. 21, 1880 288,050 Gates Nov. 6, 1883 1,141,169 Biesanz June 1,1915 1,359,685 Frederick Nov. 23, 1920 2,138,715 Thorsen Nov. 29, 19382,612,321 Sidewell Sept. 30, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 46.797 SwitzerlandMar. 9, 1909

